OF THE ROOT, AND ITS DIFFERENT KIKDS. 103 



the body of the Root, and Radicula the 

 fibre. The latter only is essential, being the 

 part which imbibes nourishment. 



Roots are either of annual, biennial or 

 perennial duration. The first belong to plants 

 which live only one year, or rather one sum- 

 mer, as Barley ; the second to such as are 

 produced one season, and, living through the 

 ensuing winter, produce flowers and fruit 

 the following summer, as Wheat ; and the 

 third to those which live and blossom 

 through many succeeding seasons to an in- 

 definite period, as trees, and many herbaceous 

 plants. The term biennial is applied to any 

 plant that is produced one year and flowers 

 another, provided it flowers but once, whe- 

 ther that event takes place the second year, 

 as usual, or whether, from unfavourable cir- 

 cumstances, it may happen to be deferred to 

 any future time. This is often the case with 

 the Lavatera arborea, Tree Mallow, and 

 some other plants, especially when growing 

 out of their natural soil or station. Linnaeus 

 justly observes that however hardy with re- 

 spect to cold such plants may prove before 

 they blossom, they perish at the first ap- 



